Carolina Panthers have supreme confidence in Baker Mayfield
All things considered, things couldn’t have gone much better for Baker Mayfield during his initial transition to the Carolina Panthers. Something that’s already provoked increased confidence in his abilities to finally get this team trending in the right direction.
Matt Rhule’s connection to Sam Darnold is well documented. The former Baylor man was keen to keep last season’s marquee signing in the hunt for as long as possible, but betting his job on a guy who performed so poorly last season was never going to work.
Mayfield has better production in crunch moments, has a playoff win under his belt, and also has an X-factor that’s simply been missing from Darnold’s play since entering the league. A notion that Rhule conceded during his media availability after Monday’s practice.
"“I think he’s a guy that’s accurate. He’s a guy that’s smart. He plays fast. He knows where to go with the ball. He’s still adjusting to our mechanics and our footwork, so I think making this move now gives him time to settle in with some guys.”"
Confidence was always going to be key. Mayfield could have been forgiven for lacking this after a disappointing 2021 season coupled with some poor treatment from the Cleveland Browns, but he deserves credit for taking this challenge head-on and leaving no doubt he’s the better option.
Whether that’s enough to make strides from a results standpoint is the big question.